6 Films That Started Hot and Stayed Hot

Warner Bros.’ (NYSE:TWX) space epic Gravity is experiencing a rare type of success that even some of the biggest releases in history can’t hold to their name: smallest non-holiday decline in box office gross from opening weekend to second weekend for a film opening over $50 million.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gravity’s hugely impressive $12.7 million take on its second Friday in release sets the film up for a projected $45 million by the time the weekend is done. If that projection holds true, Gravity will have dropped less than 18 percent in its second weekend, making it the lowest decline in history for a film making over $50 million in a non-holiday release.

A low decline between a film’s first and second weekend in release is usually the sign of spectacular word of mouth, and in the case of Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, word of mouth has spread like wildfire since the film opened to nearly $56 million, leading to impressive weekday numbers in the normally slow month of October. As THR put it, ”Gravity is playing like summer in fall.”

But forget the non-holiday designation for a moment and understand that Gravity’s week-over-week performance ranks among the best even when holiday releases are added to the picture — something that makes the performance of the film that much more unbelievable, given its “lowly” October release. In fact, Gravity’s week-over-week performance still places it near the top of a list of Hollywood’s biggest titans when holidays are added to the picture.

Here’s a list of the top six films with the lowest declines from opening week to second week, according to Box Office Mojo’s list of “Smallest Second Weekend Drops,”with the caveat being an opening over $50 million.